


what are friends for

by goldenretrievers46



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV 2020)
Genre: 1990s, Banter, Cuddling & Snuggling, Flirting, Friends With Benefits, Intimacy, Kissing, Light Smut, M/M, Making Out, Play Fighting, Pre-Canon, Smut, alex falls for it but won't admit it, alex has a rubik's cube, reggie flirts with bad puns, reggie thinks it's hot, teenage boys being teenage boys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-18
Updated: 2021-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-26 20:08:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30111360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goldenretrievers46/pseuds/goldenretrievers46
Summary: Reggie laughed softly. "Hey, what are friends for?”Alex sighed, rolling his eyes. “Apparently friends are for casual sex. Or something.”//or; reggie and alex jokingly flirt to the point that it isn't a joke anymore. very naive and frantic sexual activity ensues.
Relationships: Alex Mercer/Reggie Peters (Julie and The Phantoms)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 78





	what are friends for

**Author's Note:**

> alrighty folks, i'm back with a ralex fwb fic. I guess I'm just working through the trifecta of sunset curve ships at this point. I also love friends with benefits, it's such a nice vibe for them especially, so I wrote this little one-shot. I rated it M because the smut isn't super graphic but about half of this is sexual content so just keep that in mind! I hope you all enjoy, please leave a kudos/comment if you do, they make my day :)

what are friends for

characters: alex mercer and reggie peters

setting: reggie's bedroom, spring of 1994

  


See, the thing is, Reggie doesn’t really know how it started. Maybe in some ways it was always a subconscious vibe at the bottom of their friendship, from the way Alex always made fun of him to the way Reggie always poked him in the stomach to piss him off, because it was fun to let Alex tackle him over the arm of a couch, and it was fun to fight back. There had always been a bit of sexual tension laced in, maybe, possibly. But Reggie doesn’t know. What he does know is that one day, the wrestling quickly faded from harmless teasing to flirty cajoling to heated making out on the floor of Reggie’s room to a promise of maybe doing it again sometime. It went like this:

They were sitting in Reggie’s room on his bed, idly talking.

“So. Reginald. Plans for the summer: go,” Alex remarked, fiddling with a Rubik’s cube to no success. 

“Plans? You expect me to have plans? What kind of person do you take me for, Alexander?” Reggie replied. 

“A moron, apparently,” Alex deadpanned. “I mean, there’s the band obviously, but like. You gotta have some idea of what else you wanna do.” 

Reggie smiled. “Honestly? Not really. I’ll probably try and get a job somewhere. I don’t think the smoothie place wants me back though, after the Great Slushie Incident of 1993.” 

Alex snorted fondly. 

“My only other plan is to continue to annoy you daily as best friends should, and maybe finally force Luke to play one of my country songs, and, oh! Prove to Bobby that I have better game than him.” 

Alex’s eyebrows shot to his hairline, but his eyes didn’t leave the Rubik’s cube, his fingers twisting the little colored squares around methodically. 

“Reggie, full offense, your flirting is shit,” he said. 

“How do you know? You’re gay,” Reggie said indignantly.

He was  _ not _ a bad flirt, thank you very much. Girls always wanted to go out with him! What did Alex know, anyway? 

Apparently quite a bit. 

“First of all, that doesn’t mean I don’t understand flirting, even if it is with girls. Second of all, your version of flirting? It’s all bad puns. It’s so cringe, dude,” Alex sighed, finally getting a line of solid blue.

“And?” Reggie could hear his voice squeak. “They’ve always worked for me. Girls love when guys are goofy.” 

He tried to smile all dorky at Alex, but his friend was completely absorbed by his cube. Reggie found it strangely captivating to watch Alex’s long fingers work at the plastic, even if he clearly had no idea what he was doing. It was almost cute to see him so concentrated. 

Reggie could tell that Alex was about to concede, at least partially. Because he was right. Puns were a perfectly valid form of flirtation! 

“Okay, maybe some girls like it,” Alex said. “But puns would never work on me. Too cheesy.” 

Well, that was practically an invitation. 

“Oh, you think puns won’t work on you, huh?” Reggie found himself asking, trying to add a bit of sultriness to his voice which, in hindsight, probably sounded more like he had a head cold. “Challenge accepted.”

Alex’s fingers just kept spinning the cube, and Alex’s eyes kept themselves firmly locked on the task before him, and Reggie felt something in the back of his throat get drier. He wanted Alex’s attention. 

“Hey. Hey. Hey Alex,” he said. “Are you a beaver? Because damn.” 

Alex turned his gaze up to meet Reggie’s. Pure disappointment radiated off of him. 

“Can we go back to a moment ago when those words hadn’t left your mouth?” 

Now, Reggie couldn’t have that, could he? He was going to win this. 

“Well,  _ dam. _ That one didn’t work out,” he snarked back. 

Alex just sighed and returned to his cube. 

Reggie shifted closer to Alex on the bed, tapping his knee. “How about: if you were a fruit, you’d be a fine-apple,” he said. 

Alex twisted some white around to meet white, before realizing that messed up his blue side, and he just looked up at Reggie with the most dejected expression. 

“This cube is fucking impossible.” 

Alex was ignoring his pickup line. This could not fly. “Well, you’re being impossible to seduce, so maybe now you know how it feels,” Reggie sniffed.

“Oh, really?” Alex replied. “You did not just compare me to this math cube from hell.” 

Alex’s stare was trying to be unimpressed, but Reggie thought it came off more sensual than he intended. This was just their usual banter, but something about Alex’s eyes boring into his made the back of his neck itch for some reason.

“Well, not exactly, since you fell from heaven,” Reggie replied, smirking. 

There it was, finally. Alex was smiling back, laughing, the deadpan stare broken, and then he was discarding the unsolved Rubik’s cube to the side with his long, steady fingers, and he was tackling Reggie across the bed with those same hands. Reggie felt his heart leave his body. 

“You…” he said between tussles, “...are…” an elbow connected with his chest, “...insufferable.” 

Reggie tried to fight back, but Alex was stronger and taller. He always had been fit from his drumming, but ever since he started going on his morning runs to “clear his head”, he had this extra stamina that always gave him the upper hand. It pissed Reggie off to no degree that he could never outfight Alex, so he usually tried to get him back by poking him in the stomach, which he knew Alex hated. 

“You’re just upset because you secretly liked my puns,” Reggie retorted. 

“You wish,” Alex scoffed, pushing him even further into the mattress, pinning his arms behind his head. 

Reggie took that opportunity to knee Alex in the lower abdomen, and Alex recoiled, leaving his arms free. How perfect. Reggie retaliated by tickling Alex right across his stomach, eliciting a high pitched squeal. 

“Reggie, _ stop, _ ” Alex said between heavy breaths and laughs. “I’m going to get you back for this so good.” 

Reggie took Alex’s half hearted protest as an encouragement to keep going, so he let his hands find their way up to Alex’s armpits and pinched the skin underneath. Alex let out another yelp, and then he recovered and his hands were back, and oh fuck, were they on his collarbone? Reggie’s brain short circuited, and all he could feel was Alex’s hands  _ really _ close to his neck, and his heavy breathing in his ear. Then Reggie felt a familiar tightening sensation in his gut, and that was  _ definitely  _ not part of the plan. Reggie didn’t really know what game they were playing now, and maybe he’d started it with his shitty puns, because fine Alex, they were shitty okay, but whatever game it was, Alex was definitely winning. And Reggie wasn’t a loser, but he did like to have a bit of fun. So he decided to goad Alex on. 

“How are you going to get me back?” Reggie asked through a stilted laugh, giving a pretty wimpy attempt at removing Alex’s hands from his chest. 

Alex just looked bemused. “I never give away my secrets, Reg.” 

And then he finally (unfortunately?) took his hands off of Reggie’s chest and started moving them… downwards? And oh. Oh  _ no _ . That would not do. Reggie was not about to have the worst embarrassment of his life because he happened to be a horny teenager whose attractive friend had just pinned him against a bed in a fake wrestling match. He would never be able to live that down, especially with Alex’s sarcastic attitude. So he gathered all the strength he could muster and pushed Alex off of him.

Now, to be fair, Reggie hadn’t meant to push him onto the floor. That part had been an accident. Alex had landed on his back and was staring at his ceiling. Reggie was concerned he might be hurt for a moment, but then he was laughing and sputtering swear words and attempting to recover and again, Reggie couldn’t  _ have  _ that. So, Reggie was off the bed in a flash and attempting to tackle Alex into the floor again. He could hear their laughs and protests echoing around the room, all boyish and cracked, and Reggie was finally getting the upper hand, twisting his legs around Alex’s and tickling him all along his sides, batting Alex’s arms away every time they tried to defend against Reggie’s incessant attacks. But then one time, Alex managed to grab his wrist with an iron grip hold, and he was pushing at Reggie’s shoulder with his other hand, and Reggie found himself being flipped onto his back with no way to fight back. But then he remembered that he still had his tongue and his brain. This would be funny. 

“Wow, my puns really made you act up, huh?” he said breathlessly, still trying to smirk at Alex. 

Alex smirked back, digging his fingers further into the carpet where he had Reggie’s arms pinned above his head. “You always start fights you can’t win, Reginald.” 

He said it in a very bitchy tone, almost daring Reggie to retaliate. 

“That, my friend, is where you’re wrong,” Reggie replied, squeaking at the end as Alex knocked their knees together. “I’m going to win this time.” 

“Are you really though?” Alex retorted, getting all up in Reggie’s face, his grip strong around his wrists. 

And if Reggie were honest, maybe Alex was going to win, because he certainly felt much more flushed and flustered than he’d intended to feel while flirting with Alex. They were just best friends and flirting was just part of teasing each other and it didn’t mean anything. But at the same time, Alex was literally  _ pinning _ him into the carpet, and his face was really close and his breath was quick against Reggie’s cheek and Reggie himself was just your average teenage boy, okay? There was no shame in that. But something about Alex was very suffocating, and that anticipation was sinking low, low in his abdomen again, and Reggie decided he might have to concede before things got awkward. 

Unfortunately, Reggie was, as Alex liked to say, a complete moron. 

“I mean, look at yourself. I’m winning right now,  _ babe, _ ” Reggie remarked. If he had to have his arms pinned behind his head, Alex could deserve to be a little flustered. 

It worked. A blotch of red appeared, scattering across his cheeks as he seemed to realize the position they were both laying in and hadn’t moved from in quite some time. Alex sputtered momentarily and loosened his grip on Reggie’s wrists just enough to give him some leeway to start fighting back. Reggie immediately got his left hand free and started trying to tousle Alex’s hair, and Alex tried to bat his hand away. Then, a bunch of things happened all at once. In an attempt to move away from Reggie’s hand, Alex shifted his entire body forward and downwards. In the process of doing so, his hips connected with Reggie’s. 

Alex  _ gasped _ , and Reggie was so shocked that he didn’t know what was going on, except that he needed to feel that again. Which, whoa, that was a lot to be thinking about one of his best friends, but Reggie was  _ lonely _ , and Alex was right there, and it wouldn’t do anyone any good to read into it too much. So he just laughed and quirked an eyebrow at Alex, and Alex gave Reggie a scared, apologetic look before realizing that Reggie wasn’t mad at him for being a little turned on, because it happens to the best of us. 

“Do you still think I’m losing?” Reggie asked, his voice crackly. 

Alex gritted his teeth, a laugh escaping from behind them. “ _ Shut _ up.” 

Reggie utilized his free hand to boop Alex’s nose playfully. They were  _ definitely  _ still playing the game. 

“Make me,” he replied, winking artificially at Alex. 

Alex looked unimpressed, even though he was still shaken. “You really think that’s gonna work on me, Peters?”

Ah, so they were bringing out the last names now. This would be fun. 

“Yes, Mercer. Yes I do,” Reggie replied, experimentally shifting his weight under Alex’s body and counting it as a success when he felt Alex tense and heard his breathing catch in his throat. 

Apparently, that was all the encouragement Alex needed. His lips were on Reggie’s in a flash. 

Kissing Alex was like stumbling across the one thing you didn’t know you needed. At least that’s how it felt for Reggie in the moment. He wondered why they hadn’t done this before, why they weren’t spending every moment doing it. The kiss was hungry and needy and entirely all too wet, and Alex was snaking his fingers up into Reggie’s hair and pulling lightly at the strands, and Reggie gave into it, melting into the floor as Alex’s touches became both more gentle and rough in different ways. Reggie found himself wrapping his arms around Alex’s neck, raking across his shoulders and letting his hands settle right behind his ear to hold him in place. Then Alex moved his hips against Reggie’s again as he shifted to get a better angle for the kiss, and the friction was altogether too good. He let out a soft whimper into Alex’s mouth, his hands tightening around his head, and that really must have done something for Alex, because he was increasing the pressure of the kiss and teasing Reggie with his tongue and Reggie felt almost blindsided by how  _ nice _ it was. Alex was surprisingly assertive in the way he kissed and moved and touched, and while Reggie was appreciating it, he kind of wanted to make Alex fall apart, too.

So after a little bit, Reggie pushed Alex off of him, eliciting a disappointed whine from his friend, and readjusted their positions so that Alex was sitting against the wall and Reggie was straddling him. Alex’s face was red, and his lips were full and shiny, and he looked very dazed, but in a good way. There was a stray strand of hair hanging down into his right eye, and Reggie took the opportunity to slick Alex’s hair back, tenderly trying to tuck it back by his ears. Alex just leaned into the touch, all of it sickeningly gentle, almost  _ romantic _ in a way, but Reggie didn’t even want to think about that word and its connotations yet. Instead, he used his other hand to cup Alex’s face and leaned in to kiss him again. It had been far too long since their mouths had been connected. Alex kissed back, his hands running along Reggie’s sides and up his shirt, and while Reggie really enjoyed acquainting himself with Alex’s tongue, he also had a beautiful jawline and it deserved attention. So after another minute of sloppy kisses, Reggie broke away and angled Alex’s head away from him, kissing down his jawline and following it through past his ear and down to a spot on his neck. He wanted so badly to suck and bite the skin there, but he also didn’t want to leave any visible marks that could be open for questions. Alex would freak. So he just left featherlight kisses, letting his breath graze across sensitive skin. But the teasing was working, because Alex’s breathing was labored, and Reggie could feel him moving his hips underneath him, trying to find that friction again. And well, if Alex was going to pursue it, Reggie was going to give it to him. So he gave his hips an experimental roll downwards, and Alex whimpered. 

“Shit,” he said, rushed. “This is a lot, are we sure we want to… I mean, we gotta talk about this,” he continued, that familiar anxious tone in his voice. 

Reggie regretfully pulled away from Alex’s neck to look him in the eyes, trying to seem as caring as he could. “We can talk after. Unless you want to stop, but-“ 

Thankfully, Reggie never got to finish his sentence, because Alex was letting out a rushed “no” and pulling Reggie’s face in and his tongue was in his mouth and his hands were gripping his waist and Reggie felt almost relieved, because it meant they got to keep going at it. Alex seemed invigorated again now that Reggie had reassured him, all rushed movements and heavy breaths. Reggie broke away and let Alex kiss his neck this time, getting lost in the fullness of it, the wisps of air and the consuming touch of lips to skin. It was all so enrapturing. Then Alex pulled away, muttering.

“Was that good? Did I do it right?” 

Reggie wanted to laugh. It was  _ Alex _ . Of course he did it right. “Better than good. Here let me-”

Reggie grabbed at the hem of Alex’s shirt, which was riding up his hips and exposing a strip of pale skin. He wanted to have better access to other, more sensitive areas of Alex’s body. Alex quickly acquiesced, helping him pull off the shirt with surprising ease, and Reggie felt like he had a whole new world to explore. He ran his hands down Alex’s chest to his stomach and was pleasantly surprised when he felt Alex shiver underneath him. Reggie kissed him again, using one hand to continue brushing along Alex’s sides, just above his navel, and just below, wondering if he should go lower. Alex grasped at his shoulder and face, all quick and sharp movements, and so Reggie tried to match him, continuing to kiss him rather sloppily. He let his hand fall lower, palming over Alex’s jeans, and Reggie could feel Alex’s breath catch in his throat, the push of his hips upward. It was all new and exciting and scary and fun, and Reggie pulled away from Alex, feeling spit on his chin and hardly caring. He began to kiss rhythmically down Alex’s chest, moving away from his straddle position and getting on his knees. He had a theory about why Alex got so pissed off whenever he was poked in the stomach, and he wanted to test it out. 

Sure enough, Alex’s whole body began to tense as soon as Reggie’s lips reached his stomach. It was like unlocking a whole new world as suddenly there were hands in his hair and little squeaks coming from Alex’s mouth. 

“Jesus Reg, you’re killing me,” he whined. 

Reggie pulled away, trying to smirk as dorky as possible. 

“Isn’t that the point?” 

Alex rolled his eyes fondly, before looking down at his stomach and back up at Reggie expectantly, raising an eyebrow. Reggie just laughed croakily and returned to scattering kisses all along the line of Alex’s ribcage, down his sides and across taut muscle, and reveled in the knowledge that Alex’s hands were shaking as they carded through his hair, and not in a bad way as usual. It was all very quick and heated, and Reggie found himself palming Alex over his shorts again, and suddenly he really felt the need to be doing something completely different. He pulled away from Alex’s stomach, suddenly feeling altogether too clothed for how sweaty he was getting, and wasted no time in pulling his own shirt over his head and discarding it to the side. He didn’t miss the way Alex’s eyes roved over his body, taking notice of little details he may not have seen before. Then suddenly, Alex got that hungry, authoritative look on his face again, the one that made Reggie buzz internally. It made his mind slow to a standstill for a moment, it was so encapsulating and utterly  _ sexy _ that Reggie really didn’t know what to do with himself. 

But Alex did. 

He was shoving Reggie off of him and into the floor, his head hitting the carpet with a soft thud, and they were in the same position they’d been in before, Alex on top of him with his arms pinned behind him. Third time’s the charm, right? Reggie found himself letting out a surprised yelp, which Alex promptly swallowed as he kissed him again. It was all lightning quick from there. Reggie felt Alex’s fingers fumbling with his studded belt, and he took his hands away from Alex’s back to assist in the process. He popped the button open deftly with his thumb, pushing them down his hips, and then one of Alex’s hands was leaving his wrist and migrating down to feel at Reggie through his boxers. The elastic band made a sharp snapping sound as Alex attempted to get his hand under it, and Reggie found it very difficult to be patient despite the fact that it was only a few seconds of waiting, because he just wanted to be touched, dammit. Then finally, Alex’s hand was on his dick, and his lips were on his neck, and it was sweet relief. Reggie hummed in approval, and he could hear Alex whispering curses in cursive somewhere near his ear.

“Oh god, c’mon,” Alex was saying, rushed, his hand a steady presence, consistent and tight in all the right ways. Reggie supposed he’d had a bit of practice. It was maddening, honestly. 

Reggie found himself pushing his hips into it, chasing the climb, and he felt a bit stupid with it all, but Alex really had no right to judge him with the way he was  _ rutting _ into Reggie’s thigh, a constant friction which only made it all more consuming. 

“Get up here,” Reggie said, rather breathlessly. “Kiss me.” 

Alex obliged, his mouth a familiar friend by now, and Reggie found himself gasping and whining a bit into it, feeling his legs and stomach twitch and suddenly he was quite grateful that Alex was being to the point about all of this, instead of teasing him. Alex was still grinding into his leg, and something really needed to be done about that. It was a shame that Reggie hadn’t touched him yet. So he decided to take care of that problem, sliding his hands down Alex’s sides and over his hips, around the curve of his ass, and Alex took that as more encouragement to push down against him yet again, a squeaky breath escaping his lips. It was music to Reggie’s ears. He got his hands under the waistband of Alex’s shorts and went on a bit of a haphazard journey to find Alex’s dick. Reggie decided this experience was a bit surreal. It wasn’t like he didn’t know what he was doing, but at the same time, it was like  _ he didn’t know what he was doing _ . It was his first time touching a dick that wasn’t his own, but never in all his sixteen years did he think it would be Alex’s. However, there wasn’t much time for any insecurity, because Alex was desperately thrusting into Reggie’s hand, losing any semblance of rhythm in their kiss, and Alex broke away, letting his head fall to the side as he panted and groaned softly. Reggie stopped thinking about anything but the push pull, the up down, feeling good and making Alex feel good, and all of the energy in his body seemed to be coalescing and tensing low in his gut. He was close, and he knew Alex was close from the way he was breathing and chasing the rhythm. 

“Shit,” Alex groaned. “Don’t stop, I gotta-“ 

“Mhmmm,” Reggie agreed. 

Then it was all over in a succession of events, from Alex giving a particularly tantalizing stroke which led to Reggie gasping and arching his back off the floor, coming in a litany of muttered curses and praises, to Alex doing the same some moments later as he sucked on Reggie’s collarbone almost aggressively. He apparently really needed to do something with his mouth. 

Alex gave a shaky laugh, almost full of disbelief, and he rolled off of Reggie onto his back, his chest heaving as he breathed sharply. Reggie turned around to get a good look at him, from his slightly messy hair to his pink cheeks and red lips, to a small bruise blooming on his ribcage, to the disheveled state of his shorts, which had never fully come off in their frenzy and were instead hanging low on his hips. He looked fucked. Reggie was proud. 

“Wow,” Reggie breathed, still not sure of how his own voice would sound coming out of his throat. “That was- yeah.” 

“Oh my god,” Alex agreed. “We just- we just had sex. Sort of. Basically. Whoa. I mean maybe not technically, but- I, we, uh,  _ oh my god. _ ” 

Reggie wanted to laugh. “But it was good, right?” 

“Yeah.  _ Yeah _ , oh my god, it was. It was great even, but I still- I just did all of that with you. Oh my god.” 

“Don’t freak out,” Reggie said as he sat up, tucking his dick back into his pants. 

“It might be a bit late for that,” Alex said, still in awe.

Reggie watched as Alex began to come out of the haze of sex and back into his normal, thoughtful, fidgety self. To be fair, this was a lot to process. Reggie himself hadn’t expected it, and he hadn’t even known he’d wanted it, but then it had happened, and it had cemented his thoughts that he liked boys as well as girls, but he was also starting to realize that it had felt right with Alex. It had felt fun and adventurous and without inhibitions, like maybe it was something they could do again, just for the hell of it. 

“I said we could talk after,” Reggie pointed out. “So…” 

Alex sat up, hiking his shorts up around his hips. “Let’s- let’s clean up first.” 

So they did, and Reggie passed Alex a pair of sweatpants from his dresser, and found a hoodie for himself, and there was something about the sight of Alex in his clothes that felt, well,  _ different _ , now. It was all a rather silent ordeal as they got comfortable, Alex intending to spend the night anyway and flopping down on Reggie’s bed, narrowly missing the Rubik’s cube that had, in some ways, started this whole thing. He found one of Reggie’s blankets and curled into it, and Reggie sat down next to him, taking the opportunity to lean his head on Alex’s shoulder. He was a firm believer in the fact that cuddles were a very important post coital activity. Alex acquiesced, if a little awkwardly at first, but he patted Reggie’s head with a fond little chuckle, and that was enough. 

“That was fun,” Reggie said mildly. 

In some ways, he wished they didn’t have to talk much about this. He didn’t want to read into it too much. But… he knew it would make Alex feel better. 

“Yeah, it was,” Alex agreed. “I just- I’ve never done something like that without thinking before, so it’s a lot.” 

“I guess,” Reggie shrugged.

“You never- I never thought this would happen,” Alex said. “When- when I liked Luke, it was so clear, and it made sense, you know, because he’s  _ Luke _ . But nothing about this is clear, and it’s kinda freaking me out because that was really  _ good _ and I- I kinda wanna do it again, but I don’t like you, at least, not like I liked Luke, and I just- I don’t know what it all means.” 

Reggie paused for a moment to consider this, because it was,  _ well _ , a change. Do people usually hook up with their friends? He and Alex certainly weren’t the first, but he knew that usually these sorts of arrangements got messy because someone was harboring feelings. So he could understand Alex’s hesitation, and had some himself, at the fire which had ignited in his stomach over the prospect of getting to do this again. At the same time, Alex was right. They didn’t  _ like _ each other. There were no secret feelings to speak of, at least Reggie didn’t think there were. Alex felt like a moment in time, not the final destination, and Reggie was okay with that. It was all very exciting to have someone to explore these things with, to have someone to be intimate with for a bit, even if it was just for some fun in the end. They got to decide what it meant. 

“It doesn’t have to mean anything. We can decide what it means, dude,” Reggie said after the pause. 

Alex hummed thoughtfully. “I guess. It’s just- sometimes, when we hang out, I get this warm feeling about you, like you’re my best friend, and we share everything, and I- I don’t want to ruin that because we decided to start something that’ll get us in over our heads. You’re really,  _ really _ great, Reg. And then there’s the band, and I just-”

“Alex, Alex, hey,” Reggie said, pulling away from his grasp to look him in the eyes and place a calming hand on his shoulder. “Nothing is going to change the fact that you’re my best friend, okay? I’m not going to be all weird with you just because you’ve had your hand down my pants. In fact, that should make us closer!”

Reggie said the last sentence in a bouncy tone, because he was right. They’d just gone through a formative experience together! He would always remember Alex as the first guy he’d fooled around with. What an absurd thought! 

“Listen, this can be a one time thing, and we can laugh about it and be done with it, but, I don’t know. You said it yourself, it was really _good_. And I don’t think I have feelings for you either, but you’re, like, _really_ _hot_ ,” Reggie continued, his voice squeaking at the end. Man, he really had to figure out how to not sound flustered. 

Alex grinned bashfully, averting his eyes. “You have a one track mind.” 

It was an attempt at deadpan, but it came out as more of a flustered remark. 

“What?” Reggie croaked. “You are.” 

Alex just shook his head, still a bit embarrassed. “If you say so. And… maybe this is something… we can...  _ do _ , sometimes,” he said rather lamely. “You’re pretty attractive yourself.” 

Now, it was Reggie’s turn to sputter at Alex’s compliment. 

“But we aren’t telling Luke! Or Bobby, or anyone. They’d be so annoying about it and it would be a whole saga, and if we’re gonna do this, I want it to be our thing, okay?” Alex said. 

“Yeah, okay,” Reggie agreed easily. He didn’t particularly want Luke to know either. 

They fell into silence again, Reggie resuming his position against Alex’s shoulder. Alex relaxed into it this time, clearly more at ease after they’d talked about it for a bit. They furrowed further into the blankets, both sated and a bit sleepy from their prior activities, as well as it being late at night. Affection was something they were all rather free with, Luke being touchy and Alex being emotional and Reggie really just taking whatever he could get, lord knows he wouldn’t anywhere else, but again, this felt a bit different. It felt more…  _ caring _ , now. Alex wrapped his arm around Reggie and let his head fall onto his chest, and his breathing was light and even, and he carded his fingers through Reggie’s hair, always needing something to do with his hands. Reggie wanted to melt into all of it, the intimacy of it all a new yet strangely familiar thing, and eventually Alex shifted so that they were laying face to face, their legs tangled together. Reggie let his head fall against Alex’s, and Alex just looked at him with a gentle, affectionate gaze. 

“I think you’re right,” he said. “This- this will be fun. And it’s nice to have someone, too. It sucks to be lonely.” 

Reggie laughed softly at the commonality of it all. “Yeah, it does. But hey, what are friends for?” 

Alex sighed, rolling his eyes, but it wasn’t derisive. “Apparently friends are for casual sex. Or something.” 

“I mean, for not knowing what we’re doing, I think we’re pretty good at this already,” Reggie said, waggling his eyebrows animatedly. 

“Always so confident,” Alex chided. “We’ll have to make sure this doesn’t inflate your ego like Luke’s. That boy thinks he’s heaven sent for all women within a 30 foot radius of him.” 

“Is he wrong?” Reggie replied. “You even fell for it.”

Alex laughed. “No, he isn’t, that’s what makes it so frustrating.” 

Reggie snorted in agreement. The mood of the room seemed to get a little softer then, now that they were face to face, now that they’d relaxed. Alex seemed to be thinking about something rather intensely. 

“Can I…” he paused. “Can I kiss you again?” 

Reggie looked up, surprised. Alex asked it like he was a little kid asking his mom for a candy bar in the grocery line, shy yet eager. It was endearing. 

“Sure,” Reggie said lightly. He wasn’t about to turn down the prospect of Alex’s lips on his again. 

So, Alex did. It was much more tender, this time, not like their kisses earlier, which were messy and heated. Reggie couldn’t help but hum softly against Alex’s lips, finding the nape of his neck and curling his fingers around it. Alex gathered him up into his arms, and deepened the kiss, but in a calm, consuming way. It was almost painful. Reggie’s chest leered at it; he wanted to get lost in it. He’d forgotten how nice it was to kiss someone, to hold someone, and, a little voice whispered, to care about someone. After a little bit, Alex broke away, his eyes shimmering with a twinge of sentimentality, and Reggie just pulled him closer, if that was even humanly possible. Alex’s arms were strong around him, and his breaths were steady, and Reggie began to draw patterns onto his back as they lay in their little embrace. 

“Thanks,” Alex said softly. 

“This isn’t a thanking situation,” Reggie mumbled into his shoulder. “But you’re welcome.” 

Alex rolled away from the hug, and Reggie just started to position himself more comfortably when he heard a loud squawk beside him. 

“Ouch! Jesus Christ, what is that?” Alex was saying, fumbling around in the dark only to find that he’d lain directly on top of the Rubik’s cube. 

And just then Reggie remembered how this whole thing had started in the first place, and well, he had to laugh, because he  _ had _ won. He’d  _ won _ !

Reggie just dissolved into a fit of giggles, I mean really, he sounded exactly like a thirteen year old girl after seeing their crush shirtless. It would’ve been more embarrassing if the whole thing wasn’t extremely funny. 

“What’re you laughing at?” Alex said in annoyance as he chucked the cube across the room. It landed with a thud amongst Reggie's old erector set collection.

“Well, it’s just,” Reggie began. “This all started because you were convinced you wouldn’t fall for my pickup lines! And now look at us. So I  _ did _ win, in the end, you dork.” 

Alex scoffed. “Don’t kid yourself Reg, it definitely  _ wasn’t _ the pickup lines.” 

“Okay, but you’re the one who tackled  _ me  _ and kissed  _ me _ after I threw them at you, so, you know, you’re wrong,” Reggie sniffed. 

“They still suck,” Alex said. 

“Yet here you are,” Reggie replied, giving Alex his most challenging stare he could. 

“I will never admit defeat,” Alex said, but there was a teasing lilt in his voice. 

“C’mon, admit it,” Reggie urged. 

“No,” Alex replied, smirking. 

“Admit it.” 

“No!”

" _ Admit it _ .” 

And instead of saying anything that time, Alex just kissed him fast again, breaking away to mutter “I” - _ kiss _ \- “definitely” - _ another kiss _ \- “won.” 

The  _ I won because I got you  _ was left unspoken.

“Maybe we both did,” Reggie finally acquiesced, just happy that Alex was kissing him again. 

“Maybe so, you weird my-puns-involve-beavers boy.” 

“Beavers are cute,” Reggie pointed out, and Alex just chuckled softly next to him. 

“Okay, Reggie.”

And they drifted off to sleep sometime later.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!  
> please hit me with your thoughts in the comments if you'd like :)  
> you can find me on tumblr @tiriansjewel, feel free to shoot me a message anytime!


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